Stuck With You
by immram
Summary: Rick's a thief, Evy's a high society brat, Imhotep's a playboy and Jonathan's almost respectable. A trip to Cairo, secrets, lies and squabbling. Throw them all together in the present day and wakiness ensues. RickEvy
1. An odd state of affairs

Okay, thanks to those who reviewed my mini fic _Remember me_, it really meant a lot! This is something a bit different and probably a lot longer (not epic or anything of course). If anything, this is a very loose reworking of the Clark Gable film _It Happened One Night_. I had to watch it as part of my degree and the central characters just screamed Rick and Evy at me…I never claimed I was sane by the way. Since I only saw it once, three years ago, I really mean it when I say _loose_ reworking.

Disclaimer: I'll readily admit that the characters are not mine (Oh how I wish they were). Neither do I own any dialogue or situations I happened to…borrow…from various sources that I can't be bothered to list (mostly because half of them I can't remember where I got them from). I do take credit for anything that turns out to be in the slightest bit original (I have to take what I can).

**Stuck With You**

**The Players**

_Evelyn Carnahan: _High society brat, younger sister of Jonathan Carnahan. Engaged to Imhotep.

_Jonathan Carnahan: _Rich Businessman. Shares mistress with Imhotep – Ank-Su-Namun.

_Imhotep_Rich bachelor and ladies man. Engaged to Evelyn.

_Anck-Su-Namun__: '_Professional' mistress gold digger.

_Rick O'Connell: _Thief for hire, has loose ties with 'the syndicate'.

_Izzy_Driver for 'the syndicate', reluctant friend to Rick.

_Ardeth__ Bey: _Carnahan's chief of security.

_Beni__ Gabor: _Petty crook, conman, pickpocket and opportunist.

_Lock-Nah:_ Head of 'the syndicate'

And that's everybody, so without further ado:

**Chapter 1: An odd state of affairs**

**HAMUNAPTRA TIMES**

_**Wealthy socialite to marry notorious playboy**_

_Much to the surprise of just about everybody, Evelyn Carnahan yesterday announced her engagement to popular goodtime 'It' boy Imhotep. Carnahan, daughter of the late president of the Ammon-Ra publishing corporation and younger sister of current_ _president Jonathan Carnahan Jr, has enjoyed an on/off relationship with her betrothed for the last six months. Though usually keen to keep out of the public eye (unlike her brother – see page 14 for a photo exclusive of his antics at the Sultans Kasbah with former girlfriend Sheila), the pair has been spotted enjoying lunch and tea in several of Hamunaptra's more upmarket café's and at various social events._

_The lady in question released a statement through the family's publicist stating that: "Imhotep and I are very happy together and have decided to make our relationship more permanent." Hardly the most romantic of sentiments. One has to wonder how the self proclaimed 'good girl' managed to tie down the man whose name became widely known just over a year ago when he was connected to the scandal surrounding the affair between then married Jonathan Carnahan and Anck-Su-Namun. His name has since been connected to no less than a dozen other women._

_The question is also raised as to how Miss Carnahan's brother will react to the news that his baby sister is to marry his one time love rival…_

Jonathan scowled, throwing the paper away in disgust. How was he going to react? He was going to tear the little twit's head off, that's how! How could she do this to him? More to the point, why had he had to find out from a newspaper he owned rather from Evy herself?

Ever since their parents had died he'd given her everything she could ever want; cars, clothes, credit cards, and this is how she repaid him. She wanted it on a whim, he got it for her…or at least one of his assistants did. As the thought crossed his mind Jonathan halted the frantic pacing he had begun without realising. Was that what this was about? Was she just after his attention? Surely she wasn't stupid enough to marry that womanising lout, not to mention a man who had stolen several _very_ attractive ladies from right under his nose, just to make him spend time with her.

No, Evy wasn't that kind of girl. She wasn't petty and selfish. She wouldn't hurt him like this for something so childish. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this…he just couldn't think what it might be.

* * *

"But darling," Evy argued sweetly into her cell phone, sugar dripping from each syllable "I thought you'd be pleased."

"Evy," Imhotep began, letting out a put upon sigh as he struggled to keep his temper in check, something he found himself needing to do more and more frequently these days. Never had he met a woman as infuriating as Evelyn Carnahan. "It's not that I'm angry about you telling people…" I'm not angry he thought, livid, furious, homicidal, but definitely not angry. "…I just wanted to do things properly. I wanted to do something special to announce it."

The last part, at least, was true. The bigger deal was made of this whole thing the better. It was the perfect way to get one over on Jonathan, and with all the attention surrounding 'the happy couple'; he wouldn't be able to do anything in retaliation without harming his own interests. Jonathan Carnahan may have been a lot of things, and may have had more than his fair share of vices, but despite all of that he was nothing if not a very shrewd business man. He knew when not to do anything too stupid.

"Oh don't be silly." Evelyn replied with a chuckle, apparently flattered by her fiancé's words. "You know I didn't want to make a fuss. I thought it better to make a short, factual statement of our intentions than to let the whole thing get blown out of all proportion."

"You didn't want to make a fuss?" Fortunately Evelyn couldn't see his smirk.

"No."

"Is that why you haven't told Jonathan yet? How do you think he's going to react to finding out like that?" Imhotep could barely keep the amusement out of his voice as he imagined his rival's face as he read the headlines. His mind could have drifted off to a very happy place if not for Evelyn's voice anchoring him in the here and now.

"I knew he'd try and talk me out of it. He probably still will." She said matter-of-factly. "If I'd told him, he would have made sure I wasn't allowed anywhere near you. Now he has no choice in the matter, it's already public knowledge."

Imhotep sighed once more. True, things hadn't quite gone according to plan, but there was nothing to be done about it now, and he could work with what he had. "Okay. Are we still meeting for lunch?"

Evelyn held in the 'humph' of irritation Imhotep knew must be there, knowing that changing the subject and effectively slamming the door on a conversation was one of the quickest ways to annoy her. She hated it when he did that. "Of course."

"Great. See you later." Without waiting for a response Imhotep quickly disconnected the call and dropped the cordless phone onto the coffee table next to his chair, not really caring at that moment if he broke the thing. A little peace and quiet sounded like heaven right about now.

It wasn't that he didn't like Evelyn, he reflected. In fact most of the time he actually liked her quite a lot, cared about her even…most of the time. She was cute, there was no denying that, and she was one of the most intelligent women he had ever met. Most of the 'ladies of leisure' he'd passed any significant amount of time with invariably turned out to be incredibly vapid and shallow. Unfortunately she was also demanding, argumentative, stubborn and hopelessly prim. It was over six months and he'd still had nothing more than a kiss from her.

"Not until we're married." She'd insist whenever he tried anything a little more adventurous. At first he'd found it charming. No one really thought like that anymore and the proper lady act had been sweet, until he realised it wasn't an act.

Of course he wasn't marrying her purely to get into her pants, although that was a significant incentive. If that was really what he was after he could easily find it elsewhere, and had done on several occasions when Evelyn's refusal had been particularly frustrating, and he didn't see that changing even after they were married. What _she_ didn't know wouldn't hurt _him_ after all. The money he would be marrying into was also a sweet deal, along with rubbing the whole thing in Jonathan Carnahan's face.

No, the main reason for his proposal was simple. If he was going to be married, it may as well be to Evelyn. If she'd been able to keep his interest for this long she seemed like a fairly safe bet. Unfortunately, she was always going to be second best. It wasn't her fault, but his heart had been given away long ago to a woman who simply refused to be tied down.

An angry scowl curled his lips as he thought of his beloved Anck-Su-Namun. Where Evy was cute, Anck was exquisite, Evy was smart where Anck was sharp, Evy was innocent while Anck oozed sensuality. The hardest pill to swallow – Evy was perfectly happy to settle into marriage while Anck would never do so until she was sure she had the richest man possible in her clutches. He didn't blame her for that; one of the first things he looked at in a potential partner was the size of her inheritance.

At one time, he'd been the one to lavish her with gold and jewels. That was until Jonathan came barging in with his huge publishing company and 'old money', not to mention his good name. Oh Anck had still been willing to come to his bed and accept any gifts he had to offer, but why settle for one rich playboy when she could have two? Everyday his resentment towards his rival grew just that little bit more and showed no signs of abating until the day that Anck, sick of his jealousy, had simply called things off.

Evy had come along not long after, and he'd done his best to put Anck out of his mind…until recently…

* * *

Evy's shoulders slumped as she let the cell phone slip from her fingers, before falling back into the soft pillows of her bed. Every conversation they seemed to have ended that way these days. She tried to tell herself that it was only the pressure of having a romance in the public eye that led him to be so abrupt. She could understand the wish to avoid public displays of affection lest the photographs be printed in the paper the very next day – it happened to Jonathan frequently enough – but sometimes he seemed to forget that the press was not always present.

Was it her? She wondered. She knew that it irritated Imhotep when she wouldn't let him do any more than kiss her, but surely no more than it irritated her when he pushed her for more. Was it so wrong that she wanted to wait until it felt like the right thing? Some might have considered her attitude to be prudish and old fashioned, but she was determined to wait. The time would come eventually when the thought of being intimate wouldn't cause her stomach to twist in painful knots and her palms to become cold and clammy…right?

It was times like this, when she constantly doubted herself and everything she thought she knew about Imhotep and her relationship with him, that she wondered if she was just going insane.

"Are you insane!"

Ah, Jonathan. Ever the voice of reason

Without getting up, Evelyn turned to face her very red-faced brother where he stood in her open doorway and her brow furrowed in confusion. She was sure she'd locked that door.

As if reading her thoughts, Jonathan was quick to continue. "Don't think locking your door is going to save you from explaining yourself missy!" He held up a key to prove his point which she quickly recognised as the skeleton key used by their security personnel. She'd forgotten about that.

With a sigh Evelyn pulled herself off the bed and moved over to her dressing table, pointedly not looking at Jonathan as she did so. Quickly getting bored of the silent treatment Jonathan carried on.

"It was bad enough that you insisted on seeing the wretched blighter even when I'd asked you not to. Now you get engaged to the man and have the nerve to let me find out like this." He punctuated his statement by flinging the newspaper in her direction where it landed just behind her.

Still not turning around, Evelyn pulled various make-up items out of her vanity case and calmly replied "He has a name you know."

"I know he has a bloody name." Jonathan continued to fume "I just don't feel like saying it."

"Suit yourself." Evelyn shrugged.

Seeing that his current approach was getting him nowhere, nor was it likely to in the near future, Jonathan felt most of his ire leave him. Walking further into the room, he dropped heavily onto the edge of the bed and watched her in silence for several long moments as she continued to apply shades of blush, eyeliner and lipstick with an ease that surprised him. Just when had his sweet baby sister turned into a lady?

They'd been close once, inseparable even. They'd told each other everything. She'd covered for him with father whenever he came home drunk, or if a stinking hangover prevented him from joining the family at breakfast. In return he'd taught her all the little tricks he'd learned from the disreputable friends his parents had so disapproved of; picking pockets, faking illness, sneaking into places underage. He'd looked out for her and she'd been his biggest fan. Then when their parents had died in that plane crash everything had changed. He'd been forced to be a grown up for the first time in his life, and it had cost him his sister.

It seemed to have happened so gradually that he'd never noticed until he'd looked up from his desk one day and said to his assistant, barely consciously, 'isn't something missing?' It was then that he realised he hadn't spoken to his once beloved sister in nearly a month. He'd always promised to make time for her, but something always managed to get in the way. Now he seemed to be paying for years of neglect.

"Evy," he began again, so quietly that had her eyes not flicked to his reflection in the mirror he would have thought she missed it, "is this really what you want?"

"What do you mean?" Her tone was cautious, obviously trying to figure out if he was playing another of his tricks.

"Is marrying that pillock" he ignored her pointed scowl "what you really want? I mean is he really 'the one' you always talked about when you were little?" If he really believed that Imhotep could make her happy he would gladly…well not gladly, more like grudgingly, not stand in her way.

Maybe it was the fact that Jonathan had unknowingly echoed her own worries from earlier that day that caused her slight hesitation, or it could just have been that she was concentrating so hard on applying her mascara. Whatever the reason, when after several seconds of silence Evy replied, "Of course it is!" Jonathan still smiled.

There was still hope.

He just had to wait for lover boy to screw up!

* * *

Rick O'Connell drummed his fingers against the glass of the phone booth as the ringing on the other end continued for an uncomfortably long time. While he waited, his eyes kept falling back to the briefcase sitting at his feet and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He'd done it. He'd actually done it.

His attention was drawn back to the phone when a sleepy voice greeted him with a grunt, which he assumed meant 'hello'.

"Izzy!" He cried, still high from his own success and the joy of finally hearing a friendly voice.

All he received in return however was "AAGH." Quickly followed by a loud click and the dial tone when his dear friend slammed the phone down. Rick stared at the receiver for several long seconds, a look of combined confusion and irritation on his face as if he couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Finally deciding that he was in far too good of a mood to let it bother him too much, he put several more coins in the phone and hit redial. Before the first ring had finished, the call was picked up.

"Whatever it is, whatever you need, I don't care. Forget it O'Connell. _Every_ time I hook up with you I get shot. Last time I got shot in the arse."

"Izzy," Rick tried to interrupt, but it was of little use.

"I'm in mourning for my arse!"

"Izzy."

"Remember that bank job in Marrakesh?"

"IZZY!" Rick shouted, finally breaking into his friends' angry tirade. "Much as I'd like to stand here and reminisce, this is a bit more important."

"What is it?" Izzy sighed, sounding rather put out at being interrupted.

"I got it Izzy." Rick replied, the grin evident in his voice. "I got the money to square things with Lock."

"You're kidding!" Izzy asked, incredulous.

"Nope. Might have enough left over to get me out of this God forsaken country too." Now that's a pleasant thought, Rick decided. He'd had nothing but bad luck ever since he'd set foot in Egypt, going from one disaster to another until he'd eventually found himself in this mess. Yep, he was out of here as soon as possible.

"Do I want to know how you pulled it off?"

Rick glanced down at the blood slowly seeping through his shirt at his shoulder and grimaced as he thought back to Izzy's concern over being shot. "Probably not."

"So what's all this got to do with me?" Izzy inquired, after all, Rick O'Connell never called you just to say hello.

"I need you to arrange a meeting with Lock."

"That's all?" It sounded way too easy.

Rick could hear the suspicion in Izzy's voice and decided not to leave him in suspense. "I need you to meet me in Cairo and give me a ride." Despite not being able to see him, Rick was sure Izzy's eyes were wide with panic.

"No!" Izzy insisted immediately "Not a chance. Call a cab! I'll arrange the meeting but _I'm_ not coming within a hundred feet of you. That leads to nothing but trouble."

"C'mon Izzy," Rick cajoled "It's just a half hour drive. What trouble can you get into in half an hour?"

A lot, thought Izzy, but he remained quiet.

"I'll make it worth you while." Rick promised.

"How?"

"I'm paying Lock in gold."

Rick would swear he could hear his heart beating as the seconds passed in silence.

"Name the time and the place."

Rick's grin widened.

* * *

Evelyn liked to think of herself as a reasonably easygoing person; level headed, slow to anger, that sort of thing. Right now however, the next person who so much as looked at her was likely to have their head bitten off. It was bad enough dealing with Jonathan's anger and disapproval this morning, that had been expected, but within minutes of stepping out of the door she'd had to endure staring and unabashed curiosity from just about everyone who recognized her. Then to top it all off, Imhotep, her beloved fiancé was now over half an hour late!

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she leaned back in her chair and let her gaze drift to the people who filled the small café and lined the street outside. The lunchtime rush was at its peak and almost as soon as she fixed her eyes on one person, another moved into her line of sight. She'd never spot Imhotep in this crowd.

She was searching the far side of the street when she saw the man in the phone booth directly opposite. Though he had his back to her and was too far away to see properly, she could tell he looked nothing like Imhotep. He was taller for one thing, and actually had hair (a nice golden brown if she wasn't mistaken). She had to wonder why her eyes had been drawn to him, and why she continued to watch him as he talked animatedly to someone on the other end of the line. She couldn't explain why she was mentally willing him to turn around so she could see his face, yet her breath caught in her throat as he finally put the phone down, her eyes refusing to blink as he began to turn around with agonising slowness.

Just as she was about to get a good look at this tall stranger, her errant fiancé landed heavily in the seat opposite her, obscuring her view. She did her best to hide her disappointment from him, unsure what she would say if he asked her about it. She didn't know whether to be pleased or disappointed when he didn't notice anything was amiss.

"Sorry I'm late." he began, waving away a waiter to tried to take his order. "As I was leaving I got an important phone call."

Evelyn just raised her eyebrows in response, a silent indicator that he would need to elaborate before she decided if she believed him or not. So far this meeting didn't look like the nice romantic lunch date she had been looking forward to. He hadn't even mentioned the new dress she'd worn specially for the occasion. It was their first official date as an engaged couple after all.

"I have to go to Cairo." Imhotep explained without preamble, causing Evelyn's eyebrows to raise another inch in surprise.

"Why?" she asked, immediately ashamed of the whiney tone of her voice. What had happened to all of her anger?

Imhotep fidgeted in his seat. "I have to meet someone, that's all." He answered, his tone inexplicably (to Evelyn at least) defensive. "I'll only be gone for a week."

"Oh." Evelyn offered him a game smile. "At least we can have lunch together before you go…right?"

"Erm…"

Evelyn's shoulders slumped, she knew what was coming. So much for her romantic engagement celebration plans.

"My plane leaves in an hour." Imhotep continued apologetically. "I just thought it was better to tell you in person."

Evelyn let out yet another sigh before pushing back her chair and picking up her bag. "At least let me come with you to the airport so we can say goodbye properly."

* * *

Rick was practically skipping as he made his way through the crowds of people waiting to board their planes, heading towards the private hanger where an old acquaintance of his by the name of Winston Havlock was waiting to take him to Cairo.

His luck seemed to be improving of late he thought happily. First he manages to pull off the job of the century reasonably unscathed (being grazed by a bullet didn't count in his opinion since it didn't require a visit to the hospital). Next, he was able to arrange a meeting with one of the least friendly men on the planet with relative ease, then last but not least, his buddy Winston just happened to have a single seat left on his chartered flight to Cairo and was more than willing to offer it to 'a fine chap' such as himself for a very low price.

Life didn't get much better than this.

It was probably this uncharacteristic lucky streak that lulled Rick into a false sense of security, which in turn meant that things were about to go horribly wrong. Later he would berate himself for not looking where he was going. Later still, he would congratulate himself on not doing so, but that wouldn't be for quite some time so he could take no comfort in the fact.

He hadn't meant to bump into the man kissing his girlfriend goodbye, and he certainly hadn't meant to make the man drop his wallet. When he bent down to retrieve it for the man however, the gesture was misinterpreted and before he could offer it back, he heard the cry of 'Thief' and found himself surrounded by four armed security guards who had appeared out of nowhere.

It was just typical. The one time he wasn't actually trying to steal something he manages to get himself arrested. So much for his lucky streak.

TBC…

* * *

A/N: I know that was actually quite rubbish and jumps around a lotbut I swear it gets better. Everything has to start somewhere. Please review and let me know if you think I should continue at all – it helps my muse. Honest!

Thanks for reading.

KT x


	2. Making Plans

Not one review? Do I really suck that much? If I do, feel free to tell me. Sigh. I'm sad now. Oh well. I'm adding the second chapter anyway just on the off chance that I've managed to improve. Rick and Evy finally meet, though don't expect wine and roses just yet or else there wouldn't be a story would there?

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. If they did I'd be much happier and much too busy playing with them to bother writing about them.

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Making plans  
**_

"JONATHAN!"

Jonathan looked up from his paperwork, sheer panic written on his face. Before he could think of a place to hide however, the door of his office had been thrown open with such force that it hit the back wall, banging loudly, an in walked his very irate baby sister flanked by two black uniformed security guards. One was sporting a black eye, and the other was holding a hand to his obviously bleeding nose. Jonathan could only guess at what had happened to them.

"Hey sis," he greeted cordially enough, though his voice sounded much higher than he would have liked. "Something wrong?"

Rather than answering her brother's question, Evelyn chose to scream one of her own. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Jonathan didn't need to ask what she was referring to. She wouldn't be standing here with two rather dishevelled security guards if she hadn't already stumbled upon his little plan. Seeing that he wasn't going to bother denying anything, Evelyn pressed her argument. "You've pulled some stunts before Jonathan, but sending your goons to follow me was low even for you!"

"It was for your protection." Jonathan protested weakly, reaching for any excuse he could in order to avoid the truth. Evelyn narrowed her eyes.

"Protection from whom exactly?"

"Well…from…erm…"

"You were hoping they'd catch Imhotep doing something wrong weren't you?"

"I ah…you see I was…" Jonathan continued to fumble, wondering how she always managed to figure him out so quickly.

"For you're information," Evelyn continued smugly, ignoring him "Imhotep stopped a thief."

At that, all nervousness disappeared from Jonathan and his eyes widened in alarm as he turned to address the man with the black eye. "A thief? Ardeth is this true?"

"It is." Ardeth replied with a slight nod of his head.

"Is that how you two were injured?" Jonathan asked, the concern in his voice obviously more for what could have happened to Evy than the welfare of his men, not that Ardeth could fault him for that.

"He struggled as we were taking him into custody." Ardeth admitted. "That is how _I_ was injured…"

"But?" Prompted Jonathan. The glare aimed at Evy by the second security guard was all the answer he needed. For her part, Evy merely shrugged.

"Well you shouldn't have tried to manhandle me into the car like some common criminal!"

"Speaking of common criminals," Jonathan interrupted before the poor man could make a comeback that would only get him hurt further. "Who is he?"

"He refuses to give his name." Ardeth answered, equally as eager to avoid a repeat demonstration of Evelyn's anger.

"What have you done with him?"

"He's in the holding cell while we wait for the police to come and collect him." Ardeth explained "Apparently they're rather busy right now, dealing with the robbery at Seti's."

"Ah yes, dreadful business."

Jonathan seemed to think this was an end to matters since he turned his attention back to the paperwork on his desk.

"Erm hello! Excuse me!" Evelyn called, irritated by such a sudden dismissal. "Don't you have something to say to me?"

If Evelyn was expecting her brother to apologise she was sorely mistaken. True his plan of catching Imhotep doing something he could use against him had not gone exactly to plan, but he prided himself on his quick thinking. It had gotten him out of many sticky situations – both in business and…other areas.

"Yes." He replied not even glancing up from his work. "It's obvious your betrothed is a magnet for trouble, attracting the wrong sort of people. I mean look at this mess. It's lucky you weren't hurt; that man was obviously dangerous – Ardeth's our best man after all."

"But…But…" Evelyn sputtered indignantly. She certainly hadn't expected this. Was there nothing that Jonathan couldn't manipulate to make Imhotep the bad guy?

"I don't want you put at risk Evy." He continued to speak over her "I don't want you anywhere near him."

"I'm not a child!" Evelyn shouted, sounding very much like she was one "You can't tell me what to do anymore."

Jonathan did look up at her then, the expression on his face seeming almost sad. He didn't want to do this. "Ardeth," he began, not wavering in his gaze, "escort my sister to her room and see that she stays there."

Jonathan cringed at the look Evy threw him as Ardeth led her from the room. If he didn't get something concrete of Imhotep fast, he was going to pay for this dearly…

…Evelyn fumed as Ardeth maintained a gentle yet unyielding grip on her arm. She suspected that there was little chance she would get away from him, and even less chance that she could talk him into actually letting her go – he was a stickler for doing his duty. Her greatest hope was that she might think of a way out of this once she was on her own, for while Jonathan wouldn't be able to keep her under lock and key permanently, he would undoubtedly give it a good try anyway.

Ironically, Evelyn thought, Jonathan's efforts were rendered somewhat superfluous by the fact that Imhotep was at this very moment on his way to Cairo and wouldn't be back in Hamunaptra for at least a week. As such she hadn't actually had plans of being anywhere near him. Now however, she was determined to make Jonathan pay for this humiliation.

It was when the second security guard whose nose was still bleeding copiously leaned forward to unlock her bedroom that inspiration struck. She did her best to smother her pleased smile as she turned to Ardeth, summoning all the desperation she could into her voice.

"Ardeth please don't do this." She begged, placing her free hand on his chest as if to emphasise her plea while holding him back from his designated task.

Ardeth shook his head sadly. "I must do my job miss."

"You're a smart man. Surely you can see Jonathan is being unreasonable!" There was perhaps the slightest glimmer of hope in side of Evelyn that Ardeth may in fact let her go rather than carry out the bizarre orders of his employer. She knew relatively little about him, the employees of Carnahan security having not had much impact in her life until recently, but from what she had seen of this man he seemed calm and reasonable. He hadn't even lost his temper when that nasty thief had landed that vicious punch. "Please."

The door to the bedroom was open now and security guard number two (Evelyn neither knew nor cared what his name was) was standing watching the exchange but his hand never left the door handle, obviously intending to slam it closed the second she was inside. Evelyn let her arms fall to her sides, appearing to accept defeat.

"I am sorry that this is to be done." Ardeth explained sincerely even as he walked Evelyn into her room. "But while this seems harsh, I do not believe that Imhotep is a trustworthy man."

Evelyn's resolve hardened when she heard these words, and any sympathy she may have felt towards Ardeth for the trouble her actions would cause him were quickly quelled. She watched him walk away and it was not until she heard the unmistakeable sound of a key being turned in the lock that she lifted her hand that was clenched tightly into a fist. As she studied the small, inconspicuous key that rested in her palm she smiled. Never had she been more grateful to Jonathan and his undesirable friends…

…Rick paced his tiny holding cell irritably, alternately cursing the people who had caused this and himself for being so foolish in the first place. No matter what happened now he was in a world of trouble. He didn't know what had happened to the bag he'd had with him when those armed guards had grabbed him, but he doubted he'd ever see it again.

In the best case scenario, someone at the airport had picked it up and was going to have themselves a real good time with his well earned…okay more like appropriated…new wealth. If that had happened and he ever got out of here, he didn't want to think about what he'd have to do to appease Lock. The worst case; the bag was in the hands of the police and he was about to go down for a very long time. The only good thing about such a situation being that Lock may have forgotten about his existence by the time he got out…a man could dream couldn't he?

He glanced at the door for the hundredth time since he'd been thrown in here several hours ago. Any slight noise from the other side would cause him to do this in the hope that it might open and he could either make his escape or at least be told what the hell was going to happen to him. No matter what it was, knowing was better than this endless wondering and theorising – it was giving him a headache…

…Evelyn quickly moved around her room, throwing whatever she might need into the small suitcase she was allowing herself. She would take whatever cash she had, not to mention her credit cards – she could buy whatever she needed on the way. As that thought crossed her mind she ceased in her frantic packing, a new worry nagging at her.

She'd already decided she was going to follow Imhotep to Cairo, for where else would she go? Where else _could_ she go? She had friends in Hamunaptra, but Jonathan knew each and every one of them. She'd be found in an instant and right now she wanted nothing more than to get away from her brother. If she got to Cairo, Imhotep would protect her. He wasn't scared of Jonathan.

The problem now however was how exactly she was to get to Cairo in the first place. There was no way she would be able to fly after the commotion at the airport that afternoon. She'd be recognized in an instant. If anyone realized she was gone before she got there, or to the bus or train stations for that matter, she had no doubts that Jonathan would call one of his many contacts to make sure no one would sell her a ticket out of the city. He would also be able to trace her car.

Her shoulders slumped as more and more holes in her once seemingly flawless escape plan became glaringly apparent. It was becoming increasingly obvious that she was ill prepared for such a venture. She had spent nearly all her life in Hamunaptra, yet she could think of no one amongst her own friends and acquaintances who would be willing or even able to help her.

Just as she was beginning to think that her situation was hopeless, she caught sight of the newspaper where Jonathan had thrown it during his tirade that morning. She didn't know what made her walk over and pick it up, but as one headline in particular leapt out at her, she began to read…

**HAMUNAPTRA TIMES**

**_Seti's Jewellers Robbed_**

_Seti's, the most popular jewellers in Egypt was victim to a break in last night by an unknown assailant. Police are certain that a professional carried out the theft as no alarms were tripped and nothing was disturbed save the substantial quantities of gold bars used in the manufacture of Seti's famous pieces. It is highly likely that the thief knew exactly what he was looking for. Employees in the Hamunaptra branch would in fact have remained ignorant of the break in until Monday morning if not for an off duty police officer leaving the Sultan's Kasbah opposite Seti's. The officer, Mr Hassan, had this to say:_

_"I was coming out of the bar it would have been around midnight, and I saw someone leaving the shop. No one's ever around that time of night and he was dressed head to toe in black. A big man he was. I called out and told him to stay where he was but he took off running._

_I gave chase but he was too quick. I got one shot off but if it hit him it didn't slow him down at all."_

_Since there are no fingerprints at the scene of the crime, there is little which might provide useful in identifying this man. The only clue the police have is an image captured by one of the security cameras in the vault before it was disabled. (See photo below). Police urge anyone who recognises this, or has any information on who the thief might be to contact them on… _

Evelyn's eyes squinted as she tried to make out the blurred black and white image shown. As best as she could tell, it was a man's wrist, exposed by the gap between his sleeve and his glove. The picture would have been entirely unremarkable if not for the tattoo marring the skin. She could make out the eye of hours in the centre of a pyramid, and there appeared to be a figure kneeling at either side. Though unaware of the significance of the symbol, she had a nagging feeling that she had seen it somewhere very recently. If only Imhotep were here, she'd be able to ask him…

That's it! That's where she'd seen it before!

Her mind flashed back to several hours earlier when that nasty man had reached out for Imhotep's wallet. He wasn't wearing gloves and his jacket had been grey, but as his sleeve had slid back, a tattoo in black ink could be seen clear as day on his wrist. It was him! The very man who had robbed the most prestigious jewellery store in Egypt was right now, sitting in the holding cell of the security office just two floors beneath her.

Surely he'd be as desperate to get out of here as she was.

Evelyn's hand unconsciously reached to touch the small key now sitting in the pocket of her jeans. A new plan was taking shape…

…At first glance, it would look like Rick was fast asleep. His eyes were closed and his head was lent back against the wall where he sat on the bench in the corner of the cell. Appearances however, can be deceptive, as he would soon find out for himself. He was actually wide-awake, but he had given up staring at the door in an effort to open it with the power of his thoughts. He hadn't heard anything from beyond the two-inch thick metal for over an hour. He could only assume that the police had more important things to do than to pick up yet another criminal, and that the men holding him had little interest in him at all.

Due to his resignation that he was likely to spend the rest of the night here, it was with some surprise that he heard the peephole on the door being slid open, undoubtedly so someone could peer in at him, and it took all of his self control not to open his eyes and sate his curiosity. When he heard the peephole slide closed again he let out a sigh, guessing that that was his excitement over for the night.

He jumped when instead of hearing footsteps move away, he heard the sound of a key working the lock and the squeal of rusty hinges as the door was pulled open.

"Are you awake?"

Rick's eyes did snap open when he heard the distinctly feminine voice whispering to him. That was certainly not what he'd expected. It took him several seconds to adjust to the change in light, but when he did he was instantly angered by what he saw. There in the doorway stood the woman who'd been there when he was apprehended at the airport. It didn't matter that with her long dark hair, smokey eyes and delicate lips she was one of the most attractive women he'd ever seen. It was partly her fault that he was here and that was enough to taint her beauty.

Apparently unaware or uncaring of his ire and irritated by his silence the woman spoke once more, her tone distinctly patronising. "You do speak English don't you?"

"Who are you?" Rick growled, not in the mood to cater to the morbid curiosity of high society brats. Why would she be here if not to get a look at 'the way the other half lived'?

"Evelyn Carnahan." She replied, her nose in the air, and Rick had the feeling she was used to people being impressed by her very presence. Of course he recognised the name, she was something of a celebrity around these parts, but he wasn't about to let her know that.

"What are you doing here Miss Carnahan?" he asked, forcing as much boredom into his voice as he could muster and pretending to study his fingernails intently.

He could see the slight furrow in her brow from the corner of his eye and hid his smile at the fact he seemed to be annoying her with his feigned indifference. For some reason, he instinctively knew that bating her was going to be fun.

"I have a proposition for you." She informed him primly. Rick replied with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Oooh! It's nothing like that I can assure you."

"Shame." Rick shrugged. "You're not a total loss."

"Well I never!"

"Now that I believe."

"Look," Evelyn began again, frustrated by the direction this conversation seemed to be heading in and slightly embarrassed by his words "I'm serious."

Realising she wasn't likely to leave him alone until he at least heard what she had to say, Rick let out a put upon sigh before speaking with mock politeness "Then pray continue."

Narrowing her eyes but refusing to rise to the bait, Evelyn took a deep breath and mentally crossed her fingers that he wouldn't laugh in her face once she had explained everything.

"I know it was you who robbed Seti's - "

"Chalk one up for your side!" Rick interrupted pretending to be impressed with her little revelation. He'd figured it was only a matter of time before someone put two and two together anyway and saw no point in denying anything. "How'd you work that one out?"

"Your tattoo." She replied with a huff, disliking the constant interruptions – time was of the essence after all.

"They got a photo of that?" Rick asked rhetorically, lifting his wrist to study it as if he'd almost forgotten the mark was even there. "Go figure."

"Anyway," Evelyn continued, doing her best to reign in her temper "I assume you want to get out of here before the police come to collect you." Rick didn't bother to respond. "Well I need to get out of Hamunaptra too."

"What does that have to do with me?" Rick had a feeling he knew what was coming, but he wanted to hear it from her. She was part of the reason he was in this mess so he had no intention of making things easy on her.

"If I get you out of here," Evelyn explained as if talking to a very dim five year old "you help me get out of Hamunaptra and into Cairo."

It seemed simple enough, he reasoned. Too simple in fact.

"Why do you need me? Surely you of all people can afford a plane ticket."

"That's none of your concern." Evelyn insisted haughtily.

"I'm the one taking all the risks here baby," Rick told her, enjoying the angry flush his use of the word 'baby' brought to her cheeks. "I think I'm well within my rights to know why I'm doing it."

Evelyn, to her credit, refused to play his game. "Do we have a deal or not?"

Rick was silent as he considered his options. If he stayed here he would eventually end up in the hands of the police and he had little doubt that if he refused to help her, Evelyn would have no qualms about telling them what she knew. Even if she didn't, he'd be up the creek without a paddle once they spotted his tattoo. He'd been in prison before and really had no wish to go back.

If he went with Evelyn, she would certainly be a handful and probably drive him to distraction, but once they reached Cairo he would be rid of her and he could work out someway to sort things out with Lock, even if he couldn't get out of the country anymore.

It seemed pretty clear what he had to do.

"Okay." He grinned, "You got yourself a deal."

TBC…

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A/N: So what do you think, any better? Please, please review and let me know if I should continue or quick while I'm…well not ahead exactly but you know what I mean. Reviews really do help my muse…I'm not above begging J

Thanks for reading.

KT x


	3. The Journey begins

Firstly, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter – you are now my new favourite people.

Secondly, just to clear up any confusion, I've set this story around now-ish in an Egypt where Hamunaptra is real and a very long way from Cairo simply to make my own life easier. This way I'm allowed to use cell phones, jeans, credit cards, dialogue and various other bits and pieces which might not have been around in the 20's and 30's. I am aware this is very lazy and presumptuous of me…but if you knew me that wouldn't seem at all surprising. Therefore, if anything seems odd or out of place, just put it down to creative licence – unless it's really ridiculous, then feel free to point it out. I do however; promise to stay as true to the characters we all love as possible.

And I think that's about all. Thank you for sticking with me and encouraging me, I really do appreciate it.

Disclaimer: Rick is mine! Mine, mine, mine! Author wakes up, realises this is totally untrue and promptly bursts out crying Also, some of this dialogue is taken almost directly from _It Happened One Night_. I told you I'd seen that film!

**_Chapter 3: The Journey Begins…_**

If Evelyn hadn't been so determined to dislike the man walking several feet ahead of her, she would have admitted to being impressed that with the use of the security key she had taken from Ardeth, he had managed to get them out of the Carnahan building and into the city proper without being spotted by a single guard or employee of her brothers. Not that disliking him had stopped her from noticing how handsome he was – it was rather hard to miss.

She hadn't seen him properly at the airport, and the lighting in his cell had been very poor. In the bright light of the moon however, she could see how his golden brown hair seemed constantly to fall over his granite blue eyes, eyes that sparkled with a hidden intelligence. And that mouth…

"Stop it." Evelyn scolded herself for being caught up in such schoolgirl like notions. She was a happily engaged woman thank you very much!

"Stop what?"

Evelyn looked up to see that the very man she thought of was standing directly in front of her holding open a door, a quizzical look on his face. She hadn't realised that she'd spoken out loud.

"Erm…stop walking so fast?" The excuse sounded more like a question, as if asking if it was in anyway believable. In an attempt to improve her credibility she added, "I can't keep up."

He raised his eyebrow and for a moment she thought he would call her on her obvious lie, but instead he simply shrugged his shoulders with a muttered 'whatever' and a wince she was at a loss to explain. She was still trying to figure out why he seemed to be in pain as she preceded him through the door - not that she cared of course, she just didn't want him to slow her down – and as such, she didn't immediately realise he was speaking to her.

"…low profile. I'll get us the tickets."

"Pardon?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice. Tickets for what?

He rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated about having to repeat himself. "You stay here and try to keep a low profile, y'know, don't let anyone see you-"

"I know what keeping a low profile is." Evelyn snapped, irritated both by his patronising tone and her own absentmindedness. "And who do you think you are to tell me what to do?"

If he was affected by her outburst he didn't show it, continuing to speak as if nothing had happened "-and I'll go get our tickets."

It was only when Evelyn looked around at the masses of people surrounding her that she realised they were at the bus station. She must have been day dreaming more than she thought if she hadn't even noticed where he had been leading her.

"Oh." She spoke, mostly because she felt she should say something rather than act like the meek, well behaved female he obviously took her for. "Won't they get suspicious if you ask for two tickets when you're on your own with no bags?"

"I doubt they'll care enough to ask." He pointed out. "But if they do I'll just tell them my wife is waiting with the luggage."

"Wife?" Evelyn cried incredulously "I'm not your wife." Why the very idea was ridiculous, as if anyone would believe that she would marry this…this…ruffian!

She glared at him when he murmured a quiet "Thank God for that." And only nodded when he added in a louder voice "It's only for cover while we travel."

Taking her lack of response as acceptance, he had already begun to turn away from her when she called out to him. "By the way, what's your name?"

"What's that?" he asked, turning back to her with a puzzled frown.

"Who are you?" she was highly surprised that she hadn't bothered to ask so pertinent a question sooner. In all of the excitement it must have slipped her mind.

"Who? Me?" he grinned, teasing her.

Evelyn resisted the desire to point out how rude it was to answer a question with another question – she suspected he'd take it as incentive to do it all the more. "You have got a name haven't you?" she inquired with an annoyed huff.

"Yeah, I got a name." He replied at last "Rick O'Connell."

"Rick O'Connell." She repeated, testing it out before declaring, "I don't like it."

"Don't let it bother you." the man now identified as 'Rick', shrugged. He did that a lot she noticed. "You're giving it back to me when we get to Cairo." He had a point there.

"Pleased to meet you Mr O'Connell." Evelyn stated primly, offering her hand for him to shake. Rather than do that however, Rick took the dainty limb in his own larger hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

"The pleasure is all mine, _Mrs_ O'Connell." He chuckled when her eyes widened in indignation, and hurried away before she could think of a comeback.

"Oooh" she pouted, glaring at his retreating back. She didn't like the way that sounded, not at all!…

…Rick was still laughing quietly to himself as he joined the ticket line, finding himself pleasantly surprised at how much fun he was having, when all things considered; he should have been having the night from hell. He was on the run from the law, he was in deep trouble when Lock found out his money wasn't coming after all, and once the Carnahan security guys found both he and Evelyn missing, he was likely to be suspected of kidnapping. He'd even had to lift the lady's purse when she wasn't looking to pay for the tickets, and his shoulder hurt like hell. Despite all of this however, he was in an exceptionally good mood.

He put most of it down to the fact that this girl was so good to banter with. Where as most people of his acquaintance, both men and women, would take offence and either resort to throwing insults or punches, Evelyn gave as good as she got when he needled her. And the furious blush of her cheeks when he got the last word in was just so…

Rick quickly derailed that particular train of thought, guessing it could lead nowhere good. The woman was annoying, standoffish, and only interested in him as a means to an end. Theirs was a business arrangement and that was exactly how he wanted things to stay.

Still, he decided to later, when they reached Cairo perhaps, allow himself the luxury of wondering how things might have turned out had they met under different circumstances. Not now though, later…maybe. If there was one thing he needed to do on this trip, it was to let his brain do the thinking for a change – there was too much that could go wrong.

His new resolution fixed upon, Rick turned once more to the woman who occupied his thoughts. He felt a small smile struggle to make its way to his lips when he picked her out of the crowd and he shook his head. Rather than taking his advice to try and stay out of sight, she was stood exactly where he had left her, her arms folded across her chest, her head held high, and her foot tapping in a manner seeming more bored than nervous. Had she been looking in his direction, he was sure he would have seen an expression of smug defiance on her face. This girl was something else.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the nasal voice of the ticket clerk trying to get his attention. As he had expected, the harassed bus station employees had better things to think about than why he was alone and he had no trouble purchasing the tickets – he'd make a point NOT to tell Evelyn, the marriage thing was much funnier than his being right.

Fortunately, the next bus left in fifteen minutes and as he studied the schedule he was handed, he found they would be travelling through the night and making a stop sometime tomorrow afternoon, then another stop the next day. As long as nothing went wrong with the bus, they should be in Cairo by Thursday morning. Granted it was a lot longer than if they had been able to fly or if they didn't have to make stops, but it was the best they could hope for under the circumstances.

Pleased that at least travel arrangements were dealt with, he began to make his way back to Evelyn. When he saw her standing with her hands on her hips, sending him a look of death, he realised she must have noticed the missing purse. This was going to be an…interesting couple of days…

…Bob used to be good at his job, back in the days when he'd first started at Carnahan security working for the late Mr Carnahan. Now, more than twenty years later, when he'd seen more men come and go than he could count for various reasons, he was coming to accept that perhaps he was a little too old for such strenuous work. For this reason, whenever someone was needed to simply sit behind a desk, wait for a call, or generally take things easy, Bob was usually the first person to volunteer.

Therefore, it had come as little surprise to anyone that Bob had ended up with the responsibility of waiting at the security office for the police to show up and collect the prisoner while the rest of them went off to do 'more important work than babysitting'. Bob had had no problem with this assignment in the slightest – it should have been easy money.

Bob hadn't thought anyone would notice if he gave into the weight that seemed to be pressing down on his eyelids as the sun began to sink over the horizon. He was only going to have a quick nap; he'd hear anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately for Bob, he underestimated his ability to sleep like the dead and as such, he was understandably panicked when he awoke two hours later to find the cell empty and his prisoner nowhere to be seen.

Well aware of his already tenuous position within the company, Bob was quick to decide _not_ to inform his superiors of his little slip up. After calling the police to inform them that there was no need to collect a prisoner after all, Bob informed the men who arrived for the twilight shift that the police had done exactly that. It couldn't make that much difference he reasoned. The man they had been holding was only a small time thief and was likely of no significance. They'd probably never hear from him again…

…What Bob didn't realise of course was that Jonathan had bigger worries than the mistakes of his less competent employees.

"Gone! What do you mean gone!" He yelled at the men currently filling his office. All of them, except for the stoic as ever Ardeth, flinched at the ferocity of his tone and more than one man was worried for his job. It was no common occurrence to see the usually easygoing man in such a temper, so this time did not bode well. "Where is she?"

"We do not know where she has gone." Ardeth replied, his own voice calm. "She was in her room, and then she was not."

"Why the hell didn't you have a guard posted?" Jonathan demanded, trying to make sense of this mess. "Do you know how she got out?" It was so unlike Ardeth to leave anything to chance that he was having trouble believing that this wasn't some horrible nightmare he might wake up from.

"My security key is missing." Ardeth admitted, and had Jonathan not known better, he would have sworn that the man's cheeks were burning with a blend of fury and embarrassment. "I assume it was she who took it from me."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows in surprise but decided not to comment. As much as he would like to lay the blame for this turn of events in the lap of his chief of security, he knew doing so would make him the hypocrite he'd so despised in his father. He knew that the blame was as much his own, but that didn't mean he had to like it. With a heavy sigh he sunk into the overstuffed chair behind his desk, his head falling into his hands.

When several minutes had passed by in silence, Ardeth signalled for his men to leave with a wave of his hand, each of them filing out quickly without protest. Even when the last man had left, shutting the door behind him, Ardeth remained quiet, just watching and waiting. At last Jonathan spoke, his words muffled by his hands.

"It wasn't meant to happen like this." He explained, though he could as easily have been talking to himself as to Ardeth. "I was supposed to be the ne'er do well older brother, while Evy grew into a respectable lady. I was supposed to drink myself into an early grave without a care in the world, while she married a _nice_ boy who would treat her right and keep them both out of the papers. Y'know, some bookish fellow who even I could put the fear of God into, let alone an army of security personnel."

Sitting up, dropping his hands to the arms of the chair, Jonathan once more lapsed into silence, yet still Ardeth did not speak. He could practically see the wheels turning in the other man's head now his moment of self pity was over, and Ardeth was reminded why this man was running one of the most successful business empires in Hamunaptra.

"Do what you have to, use whatever resources or people you need." He ordered at length. "She'll go to Imhotep, wherever the blighter is, so find him and you should find her."

"Sir." Ardeth nodded, but didn't turn away. He knew Jonathan wasn't finished.

"I suppose it goes without saying that I'd like her found before she finds him."

"It does." Ardeth replied.

"I'll send word to the papers that she's missing. That should help."

Ardeth nodded.

"Very well then." Jonathan concluded, leaning forward and making a grab for the phone on his desk. "Lets get to work."

Ardeth was not a man prone to talking for the sake of hearing his own voice. He said what needed to be said but more or less relied on action over words. Neither was he overly sentimental, or one for voicing his opinions when no one had asked for them. So it was that Jonathan had little explanation for what compelled Ardeth to voice his thoughts on the matter before simply getting on with his job.

"With all due respect sir," he began "Miss Carnahan is a grown woman. Should she not be able to make her own decisions and be allowed to take care of herself?"

Jonathan seemed to consider this before answering, but he did not put down the phone. He was likely more surprised than actually unable to come up with a response immediately. "She is a grown woman." He agreed "But she's a grown woman who has had everything done for her, who has never been anywhere without someone looking over her shoulder whether she knew it or not. She's never even set foot outside of Hamunaptra since our parents died. I scarcely think she's capable of surviving five minutes out there on her own."

Ardeth made only the briefest of replies before leaving to do as he had been instructed, but what he did say had Jonathan staring at the space where he had been for quite sometime.

"Maybe she'll find a friend."

Jonathan wasn't sure whether the idea gave him a greater sense of hope or of fear…

… "So, are you going to tell me why you're so desperate to get out of Hamunaptra?"

"No."

"Okay…gonna tell me what's so special in Cairo that you have to get there?"

"No."

"It's that guy I saw you with at the airport isn't it?"

"That's none of you're business!"

"I'll take that as a yes then."

"Oooh!"

"Good comeback."

"You are without a doubt, the most insufferable man I've ever met." Evelyn declared much to the amusement of the man in question who simply smiled.

"I try." He informed her.

Evelyn, who was finally feeling the effects of her very long day, was too tired and agitated to bother retorting. Instead, she let out a ladylike 'humph' and turned her face towards the window of the bus, watching buildings pass by in a blur. First he steals her purse, then he asks relentless questions about her private affairs – this man was simply too aggravating for words and she was seriously beginning to regret her decision to ask for his help.

"Look," Rick continued when she had remained mute long enough for him to feel slightly guilty about upsetting her (the feeling was itself a highly confusing one that he declined analysing), his tone becoming softer "it's going to be a long trip. I just figure things will go more smoothly if we're honest with each other." It wasn't an apology he reasoned, but at least it was something of an explanation.

At first Rick thought she was going to ignore him, but after a moments hesitation, he heard her sigh, though she didn't shift her gaze from the window. "He's my fiancé."

Rick was taken aback by that revelation, having not picked up a newspaper in the last few days, nor had he noticed a ring on her finger. Before he could voice either point, Evelyn continued.

"My brother hates him. They've had a few…disagreements you see. He doesn't want me anywhere near Imhotep." She chuckled humourlessly "Even had me locked in my room to keep us apart."

Rick snorted. "Jonathan Carnahan doesn't really seem like the kind of man who should be criticising other people's relationship choices." There was rarely a week went by where the notorious businessman wasn't in the news connected with some new scandal. The last time had been the affair with Senator Haffez's wife. Not that Rick could recall anything particularly flattering about Imhotep either, though he thought best not to mention that little detail.

Evelyn did turn to him then, the barest of smiles visible on her lips. "My sentiments exactly."

Rick found himself involuntarily returning her smile, and as curious as he was about the exact details surrounding her sudden desire to flee, he didn't want to risk this tentative…something…that had developed over the last few minutes, so held his tongue. Evelyn turned away again, and when he heard her breathing evening out, he assumed she had fallen asleep.

Leaning back in his own seat, Rick ran the events of the last few hours through in his head. He had little doubt that come morning, they would be back at each other's throats with her driving him insane. For now however, while he wouldn't call them friends, they weren't enemies either. With that oddly pleasant thought in mind, Rick closed his eyes, blocking out the pain in his shoulder, and soon joined his travel companion in getting some much needed sleep…

…On the other side of the Nile at the Cairo Airstrip, Imhotep was dismounting the plane after a very long flight, and was blissfully ignorant of the pains his fiancée was taking for them to be reunited. Even if he had known, it is hard to predict what his reaction might have been since his attention was currently focused on one thing only…make that one person.

He spotted her across the airport lounge looking ravishing in a long black dress which both flowed over, and clung to her womanly curves. She raised her hand to beckon him over, even that tiny movement incredibly seductive, and Imhotep was as powerless as ever to resist her. He went willingly into her open arms, and at that moment in time he didn't care why she had called him all the way to Cairo, he didn't care that he was engaged, and he certainly didn't care to check what was actually in the bag that the thief had dropped back in Hamunaptra. Instead, the mystery bag, as well as his own luggage and any inhibitions he may have had left, lay forgotten at his feet…

TBC…

Sorry not much happened there, but I was trying to get some stuff out of the way because the next chapter should be quite Rick/Evy centred. Hope you're all still with me and once again I thank you for reading and ask that you review and let me know what you think. It makes me write quicker I've noticed!

KTx


	4. Interlude

Thanks to eris, Nhya,JewelBlossom & lilylynn for your lovely reviews. It is because of you that I'm posting this shorter chapter now rather than waiting for my attention span to increase beyond that of a daffodil (a difficult task this week apparently) so as I can write one of normal length. Enjoy!

**_Interlude: Pit stop (or ' What a difference an hour makes')_**

Around ten o'clock in the morning, the bus pulled into a quiet little town somewhere between Hamunaptra and Cairo. It was a place of no consequence unless you happened to live there, and the main source of income for their economy was the trade brought in by travellers and the busses that passed through en route to more prominent locales. It was the voice of the driver announcing over the loudspeaker that they would be stopping for one hour, no more, no less, so that they could stretch their legs that pulled Evelyn from a rather pleasant dream where she had been fed chocolates by someone she couldn't see.

Evelyn groaned as she floated back to consciousness, or she would have, had her mouth not felt like it was filled with sand. If there was one thing she hated about waking up, it was morning breath. Along with her usual dislike of this part of the day, she was further put out by the fact that her skin felt tight and dry from too much exposure to air conditioning (though she was aware that complaining about an air conditioned bus would be rather ludicrous given the Egyptian heat), her neck ached, and her pillow felt sticky against her cheek.

Blinking to force the remaining sleep from her eyes allowed Evelyn's vision to clear enough for her to realise that her pillow was actually the shoulder of a man she had been acquainted with for less than twenty-four hours. Knowing that said man had already developed a tendency for teasing her, she silently prayed that a) he was asleep himself and thus had no idea the position she'd awoken in and b) that her cheek felt sticky for some reason other than her having drooled on him in her sleep.

Thinking that the latter wish was unlikely to be fulfilled, Evelyn gently lifted herself into an upright position and turned to inspect the damage. Maybe if it wasn't too bad she could clean it up before he realised what she had done. The first thing that she noticed was that he was indeed asleep, a situation quickly rectified when her second observation caused her to gasp loudly, her hand flying to her mouth.

Rick was a light sleeper, a habit he'd developed through necessity, and as he heard Evelyn's distressed exclamation he shot upright in his seat. Evelyn watched as his eyes, at first confused and disoriented, flew from one place to another as he took in his surroundings. She saw calmness filter into stormy blue as he adjusted to being awake, and something else was written there too – relief. Had he been having a bad dream? If she hadn't still been struggling with her earlier shock, she would have been equally stunned to find that she could read him so easily after such a short time.

When he turned to face her, Rick let out his own gasp, though his seemed to be much more subdued than her own. "What happened?" he asked, reaching towards her only for Evelyn to flinch away from him reflexively. If Rick was offended, he didn't let it show. His arm dropped back to his side and he continued to peer at her.

Evelyn was puzzled by the apparent concern in his voice until she realised what his gaze was fixed upon. Bringing her hand to her cheek, she touched the warm, tacky skin, lifting away fingers stained red. Blood. "Nothing happened." She breathed, staring at the digits, still not quite able to believe what she was seeing was real. "Nothing happened to me."

"But you're covered in…" Rick trailed off, seeing her eyes flick to his shoulder. He didn't need to look to see what had her so startled, but he did anyway. Of course, looking at the patch of angry crimson, which seemed to be slowly spreading across his shirtsleeve reminded him just how painful it was and he winced, drawing in a sharp breath. "Damn that hurts." He muttered under his breath.

Evelyn, slowly beginning to regain her composure, wiped at the patch on her cheek with her sleeve. "Are…are you alright? What happened?"

The excuse was halfway to Rick's lips before he remembered his little speech about honesty from the night before. She'd told him the truth; it was only fair that he return the favour. Besides, she seemed like a smart girl, she'd probably figure it out for herself eventually. "Got grazed by a bullet the other night." He offered in the same off-hand manner he used whenever confronted with what he perceived as his own weakness. "It's no big deal. Must have just reopened the wound somehow."

"No big deal!" Evelyn repeated incredulously. "You've been shot!"

"Shhh." Rick hissed, not wanting to alert the other passengers filing past them and have them start asking questions for which he had no answer, for example, what exactly he'd been doing to get shot at in the first place. "It's not the first time and knowing my luck it wont be the last. It's nothing, really. I'll deal with it later."

Evelyn was about to protest that it most certainly was _something_, but thought better of it. She suspected that his blasé attitude had something to do with that 'male pride' issue Jonathan had been so determined to lecture her about on various occasions when she had inadvertently injured his. He wouldn't thank her for her interference and she was quite sure that it shouldn't matter to her in the slightest anyway. Even so, despite her resolve, she heard herself asking, "Is there something I can do."

"Dammit Evelyn." He snapped, eyes blazing with anger that seemed to come out of nowhere "I said I'm fine!"

He regretted it the instant she reared back, her mouth falling open and a hurt bewilderment filling her eyes. Before he could say or do anything to repair the damage however, she turned away form him abruptly and grabbed her bag. "Evelyn…" Rick began, but she was clearly uninterested in hearing whatever he might have had to say (not that he'd really had any idea what it would have been anyway) and simply pushed past him to file off the bus with the other passengers.

Rick closed his eyes and began to bang the back of his head against his seat. "Good going O'Connell." He berated himself. The poor girl was only trying to help and he goes and yells at her, but he couldn't help it. It was instinct to lash out when he was hurting – physically or otherwise, it was his way of dealing with things, his way of showing that he wasn't beaten. He'd been protecting himself this way for so long now that he didn't know anything else.

Whatever hesitant truce had existed between them last night had certainly been blown out of the water by that little performance, and if he'd found it hard to convince her to do something before, he figured it was likely to be nigh on impossible if they carried on like this. He could apologise he supposed, though he wasn't sure how gracious she would be about accepting it.

Well he'd deal with her later.

Right now he had a gushing shoulder wound to deal with.

…………

Evelyn fumed as she made her way out of the tiny bus station, ignoring the disapproving looks and murmurs of those she bumped into on the way. How dare he do that? How dare he speak to her like that? If she'd wanted to be yelled at and treated like a child she could have stayed at home where she could hire and fire people like that… scoundrel… on a whim.

It wouldn't be so bad, she realised, if she was angry. Being angry was fine; it was justified. Instead, she was hurt. She'd really thought they were beginning to understand one another, at least enough to stop the constant bickering at any rate, but he'd proven that he wasn't interested in making friends. Had she not been all too aware of her own inexperience with such matters, she would have carried on to Cairo alone.

She contemplated calling Imhotep and letting him know her intentions in the hope that he'd find some way to assist her journey; that way she could tell Mr O'Connell his services were no longer required. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that Jonathan was still ignorant of her disappearance, and he was intelligent enough to assume she would make her way to her fiancé. In the event that Jonathan got to Imhotep before she did, it would be safer if he had no idea what she had planned.

The sad fact was that she needed O'Connell more than he needed her. He already had his freedom and a ticket out of Hamunaptra. No one outside of the city would know who he was or what he had done, and neither were they likely to care. No, he was still with her by good will alone, and sooner or later he'd realise that and leave her to fend for herself.

She let out a sigh as her harried thoughts led her to the inevitable conclusion that she could not afford to be offended by every little slight O'Connell sent her way. But as of this moment, she didn't care if he bled to death, or got some horrible infection. Nope, not at all. He was on his own. She would be civil and nothing more, and once they reached Cairo she'd never have to see him again. Thank heaven.

Ducking out of sight so she wouldn't be tempted to make peace – it was hit turn she'd decided - when she saw him coming out of the building, a tired expression on his face and a jacket covering the bloody patch on his arm, Evelyn began to wonder just how her life had become so complicated all of a sudden.

…………

Rick, shoulder freshly bandaged, felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he waited for Izzy to answer his phone, and when he received the same sleepy response as the last time he called, he idly wondered how the wild haired little man ever got anything done at all if all he ever did was sleep.

"Hey Izzy." Rick could hear the tiredness in his own voice, but he still half expected Izzy to slam the phone down on him again.

"O'Connell, where the hell have you been!" Izzy cried, recognising his friend's voice. "I waited at the airport for an hour."

"Something came up." Rick O'Connell – master of understatements he thought, vaguely amused by the notion.

"Lock's pissed as hell, says you better have a damn good excuse for not showing." Izzy continued with the bad news and Rick closed his eyes, rubbing at the bridge of his nose where a headache was beginning to form.

"I got arrested." He explained.

"Erm…why are you wasting your phone call on me instead of a lawyer?"

Rick rolled his eyes "I'm not in jail Izzy, I'm still making my way to Cairo, it's just gonna take longer than I expected…"

Izzy, though sometimes gullible and invariably silly, was by no means stupid and so he was as fooled by Rick's flippant attitude as Evelyn had been earlier. "What aren't you telling me O'Connell?"

Rick sighed, feeling his headache grow steadily worse. "I lost the money." He mumbled, hoping Izzy wouldn't hear him properly.

"WHAT?" Izzy shouted.

"Relax." Rick soothed "I'll think of something, I always do."

"I hope so," stated Izzy "for your sake."

Rick couldn't help, but agree.

…………

As Evelyn ran breathlessly back to the bus terminal, carrier bag in hand, the first thing she noticed was that the bus had indeed gone and she was too late. The second was that O'Connell was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, and with a look of fury to make the one of an hour earlier pale in comparison, directed squarely at her. Lastly, she saw he had somehow managed to find a change of clothes and was now dressed in black pants and a crisp white shirt under what was presumably a new leather jacket. He looked like he had just stepped out of the pages of a catalogue, not a trace of blood in sight, and she found herself momentarily forgetting that she had decided not to be nice to him.

This temporary lapse was remedied when he opened his mouth.

"Where the hell have you been?" he snapped, but continued before she could answer. "The bus left ten minutes ago."

"I didn't realise it was so late." Evelyn tried to defend herself, her tone brisk in response to his ire. "Does it really matter? We can always catch the next one."

"Have you looked around any?" he yelled at the naive young woman, drawing the attention of several other people milling around the otherwise deserted station. "We're in the middle of the desert. There wont be another bus until tomorrow!"

Usually Evelyn would have tried to avoid making a scene in public, especially given their precarious situation. Now however all sense of decorum flew out of the window. "If it bothers you that much, why didn't you get on the bloody thing?" she demanded, her voice rising to match his. "There was nothing stopping you."

O'Connell's mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. Whatever he had been expecting her to say; that apparently was not it. Heartened by this small victory, Evelyn continued. "I'm not your employee Mr O'Connell, nor are you mine. You can't order me around and you're free to do as you please. We've missed the bus and since there's nothing to be done about it, there's no point getting annoyed – it won't change anything. I intend to find a hotel for the night, you can do whatever the hell you like."

Satisfied with his dumbfounded expression Evelyn began to walk away, but turned back. She had one last thing to say. "And for your information, this -" she flung the plastic bag she carried at him and he caught it, never taking his eyes off her face. "- is why I was late."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. Rick stared after her confusedly for a moment before opening the bag she'd given him. Inside were various medical supplies; bandages, gauze, antiseptic, painkillers etc. All things he probably needed but would never bother to get for himself.

"Okay," he exclaimed, "now I feel like an idiot." Then with a shake of his head, took off running after Evelyn.

…………

TBC…

And that's all this time folks, hopefully this will keep you going until the fog clears – promise not to leave you hanging any longer than is necessary. The next chapter is already written; I just have to find a way of getting it out of my head and onto my computer!

Please review and let me know what you think, I'm fairly certain it will improve my concentration. Thank you again for reading, it is much appreciated.

KT x


	5. Could we be firends?

I'm really, really sorry this chapter took so long. I've just been moved from part time to full time at work and I have a lot less time to write and get online. That and the chronic case of writers block I mentioned last time. Don't worry, I promise to finish this story even if it kills me – hopefully it wont but you never know.

Thank you to all the lovely people who have reviewed and been so supportive – this chapter is for you!

Disclaimer: Do you see that pig over there? It's flying! You don't? Huh. Guess that means I don't own a damn thing…bummer.

**_Chapter 4: Could we be friends?_**

It was late afternoon by the time Imhotep and his lady friend forced themselves out of bed, and even then, it had been hunger rather than desire that had driven them to do so. It had been a night of bliss and Imhotep was reluctant to let it end. For even though they still had another five nights together before he was expected back in Hamunaptra, the questions he should have been asking ever since Anck had called him were becoming harder to ignore.

Why, after a year of having nothing to do with him, had she called and begged to see him?

What had happened between her and Jonathan to make her run to Cairo in the first place?

Why had he come so willingly after all she had put him through?

The last question he could answer easily enough. He loved her – always had, always would. The others would have to wait to be answered since Anck had refused to divulge anything until 'after we're properly reacquainted.' At the time Imhotep had found no fault with her plan of action, and now, many hours later, he wasn't entirely convinced he wanted to know what was going on.

An unsettling queasiness had risen in his stomach when she had asked after the welfare of his fiancée before laughing the inquiry off as a joke and leading him from the airport and into her bed, and he had thought no more of it, too content to be back in the arms of his love. He hadn't even bothered to unpack. Now however, Anck was in the shower and he waited for her return. She had promised to explain everything once she did.

Imhotep knew how calculating and focused Anck could be when she had a plan to milk some unsuspecting soul of his hard earned cash – her primary motivation, and as such, puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place in his mind. If he was right in his suspicions, he only hoped that his devotion to her would be enough to see him through, for one thing was certain.

Evelyn Carnahan was going to get hurt…badly.

………….

"Look I've said I'm sorry okay, do you have to be such a…" Rick paused, searching for just the right term, knowing that saying the wrong thing would set her off all over again. It had taken him most of the afternoon to persuade her that it was in their best interests to stick together, pool their resources, watch each other's backs and so on. The fuss she'd kicked up when he'd pointed out that sharing a room at the tiny motel, the only one in town, would be cheaper had made him fearful for his anatomy, She had long nails and pointy boots and he was fairly certain she knew just how to use them.

Luck, or one big cosmic joke had been on his side when they reached the motel however. Apparently they were not the only ones to have missed the bus, and four of the five rooms had already been let. As such, they found themselves sharing a twin room. Rick was just grateful that there were two beds and he wouldn't have to do the noble thing and sleep on the floor.

Evelyn turned to face him as he followed her into their room, closing the door behind him, his sentence still unfinished.

"Such a?" she prompted, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Erm…" Usually so quick with comebacks and one-liners, Rick found himself at a loss to escape the hole had and once more unwittingly dug for himself.

"Madam?" Evelyn offered at his continued silence. "Priss? Bitch?"

"No, no!" Rick shook his head vehemently "Nothing like that. I just meant you were being kinda…hostile."

"I am NOT being hostile!" Evelyn cried indignantly, throwing her bag onto the nearest bed, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. "You're just a rude, annoying man!"

Rick smirked, raising an eyebrow as he took in her defiant, confrontational pose. "Not hostile huh?" He crossed his arms over his chest, his 'I so don't believe you' expression firmly in place.

"I am not!"

"Sure."

"Quick tempered maybe, but not hostile."

"Whatever you say."

"It's true!"

"Uh-huh."

"Ohh. What do you know!" Evelyn huffed, turning away and using all of her restraint not to comment when she heard him chuckling behind her. Instead, she focused on taking in her surroundings. The room was small, tiny even – she could have fit it inside her bedroom at home three times over and still have room fro an en suite bathroom. She suppressed a sigh, knowing that complaining would make her sound like the spoiled brat that she probably was. Her suspicion was confirmed when out of the corner of her eye; she glimpsed O'Connell looking the room over appreciatively. Though really this wasn't saying much when one considered his last accommodation had been a cell.

When her eyes landed on the twin beds occupying the majority of the space however, she couldn't remain quiet. "This will never do." She muttered.

"What won't do?" came an exasperated voice from just behind her, making Evelyn jump. She hadn't realised her was that close.

"The beds," she explained gesturing with her hand "there's nothing separating them."

Rick looked at her askance, then back at the beds, then right back at her, confusion and amusement warring for dominance on his face. "Sure there is." He stepped around her to stand between the beds and turned back to face her, spreading his arms to accentuate his point. "Air, five whole feet of it."

"That's not what I meant." Evelyn snapped in return.

"What did you mean then?" Rick asked, dropping his arms to his sides and continuing to peer at her.

"There's no wall, no curtain." Evelyn dropped her eyes to hide the faint blush creeping into her cheeks. "You'll se me."

"You're kidding?" Rick asked incredulously, beginning to laugh again what he saw she was serious. "I've seen women in night clothes before."

"Well you haven't seen me."

"What are you worried about?" Rick continued to laugh "Afraid I'll sully your precious virtue?"

"Oooh." Evelyn grabbed her toiletries bag and marched off to find the motel bathroom, leaving O'Connell in near hysterical laughter collapsed on his bed. "You wouldn't stand a chance!"

…………

Ardeth was by nature, a very patient man. He had been known to follow a man for two weeks strait just to catch him putting one foot wrong – in that situation, spending cash he had stolen from the Carnahan's.

As this was the case, he wasn't particularly upset when several of his early leads dried up rather rapidly.

He had taken Jonathan's advice about finding Imhotep first, as it seemed logical that Evelyn would want to be with him. Unfortunately, upon arriving at Imhotep's place of residence, the security team he had dispatched found the place devoid of any clues as to where he might have been going from the airport. His next act had of course been to call various contacts throughout Egypt, asking them to keep a close watch on their respective local airports and to let him know if they spotted the man himself, or the errant Miss Carnahan. As yet he had heard nothing.

His sxecond lead had come in the form of an off duty Carnahan employee who reported seeing Evelyn at the Hamunaptra bus station. However, early hope quickly fizzled when not a single ticket clerk recalled having sold the young lady a ticket, and Evelyn Carnahan was not someone you easily forgot. Not even offers of cash had refreshed any memories, nor produced and false speculation – people knew better than to lie to the chief of Carnahan security. It never boded well for one's health.

Thus, despite multiple entreaties from Jonathan to 'get off your lazy arse and find my sister!' Ardeth was left with little to do but wait for Evelyn to leave them a clue, however long that may take. He was certain it would happen sooner or later.

Ardeth had in fact been surprised that Evelyn hadn't left them a blindingly obvious trail of breadcrumbs to follow. Despite his private belief that Jonathan was far too protective of her, he knew it was true she had very little experience in taking care of herself, and he doubted very much that the numerous books she devoured daily would be much used during her adventure. Ancient history seemed more her forte than evasion tactics. This has led Ardeth to one simple conclusion – Evelyn had in fact 'found a friend' as he had suggested, or at least someone willing to help her. Someone who knew how to stay hidden. That might prove to be a problem.

Ardeth was pulled form his thoughts by the urgent tapping on the door to his office.

"Come." He called, only raising an eyebrow in question at the young man excitedly hopping from one foot to the other in front of him. Obviously he hadn't been in this job very long – the wide-eyed enthusiasm had yet to wear off.

"Sir, we got a call from the bank!" The sentence was punctuated with a nod of his head and a wide grin. Ardeth sighed, realising that this was likely to be a very irritating conversation. Overly cheerful people tended to grate against his trademark stoicism.

"And?" he asked, already wanting rid of the man.

"Oh right," the man continued, remembering what had him so excited in the first place. "Miss Carnahan's credit card was used at 10:45 this morning."

"Where?" At this news Ardeth had become instantly alert, although alert and bored looked very similar from the perspective of the exited young man in his office.

When Ardeth heard that the card had been used for medical supplies, he instantly decided not to pass on that piece of information to his employer, it would only make him worry. Instead, he chose his best two men – Walter Bay, and Seth Odile, and informed Jonathan that they were borrowing the company helicopter.

His patience was paying off.

…………

It was an hour later when a very frustrated Evelyn walked back into their motel room after fruitlessly searching for washing facilities. She knew they must be around somewhere, but she'd be damned if she could find them. She was so busy muttering to herself about having to make do with the tiny en-suite washroom that it took her several seconds to notice that O'Connell's appearance was somewhat different compared to how she had left him.

He was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, shirtless, attempting to change the dressing on his shoulder. Having noticed the sudden silence of Evelyn's meaningless chatter, he turned to see what was wrong, and was both stunned and amused to see her staring fixedly at his bare chest. While Rick was well aware that he had nothing to be ashamed of physically, even now with a gaping hole in his shoulder, but her reaction was still unexpected. She hadn't seemed the type to be affected by the show of a little muscle.

"Something wrong?" he asked with all the casualness he could muster. He knew exactly what was wrong; he just wanted to see if 'Miss Prim and Proper' would admit to it.

"Y…You…" she stammered, her eyes snapping up to his face as she registered his words. "You're not wearing a shirt!"

Hiding his smirk by looking down as if to check the validity of her statement, he schooled his features into their usual blankness before looking back up. "You're right, I'm not."

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" she exclaimed, eyes wider than he had ever seen them.

"Kinda hard to do this with my shirt on." He nodded towards his shoulder and indicated the medical supplies next to him. "Not that it's easy with one hand either."

He had muttered the last under his breath, but Evelyn still heard him. She watched him for several seconds as he struggled with a bandage, biting her bottom lip. Eventually she couldn't help her concern from showing. It was nothing personal, she told herself, she was just a nice person. "Do…Do you want some help?" She asked quietly, nervously, remembering only to well his reaction the last time she offered assistance.

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, and from Evelyn's perspective, he seemed to be looking for something. Whatever it was, he obviously didn't find it. Instead he sighed, letting the bandage slip from his fingers and nodded his head. "That would be great…Thanks."

Evelyn bit her tongue to keep in a retort about his wanting help now when it had been so rudely refused before. She had a feeling it was very rare that Rick O'Connell admitted that he needed help, and she felt strangely pleased that he was allowing her to do so.

Taking a seat next to him, Evelyn pulled the supplies she would need from the carrier bag before removing the clumsy dressing he had obviously applied himself that morning. It was already soaked with blood. Part of her wondered how he could still be upright with the amount he seemed to have lost, while the other part was fixedly concentrating on her work in an effort to ignore the eyes watching her and to keep her own from straying too far.

She was applying antiseptic when she decided she couldn't stand the strained silence. They were either arguing or asleep, this odd tension as each of them was concentrated so intently upon the other was not supposed to be part of their relationship.

"You really should get this looked at by a doctor." She commented lightly. It was the first thing that came to mind.

"Nah." Rick shrugged, forcing himself to think about something other than how pleasant he found her carefully gentle touch, and how long it had been since he was in the position to enjoy such attention. "They wouldn't do much more than you're doing now. S'not the kind of thing you can stitch up."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Evelyn offered with a raised eyebrow.

"Comes with the job." He tried for indifference, but Evelyn detected the weariness in his tone. She instantly found herself wanting to ask why he did it if the risks were so high, yet she was afraid of how he would react. Instead, she went for the indirect approach, hoping she could get him to reveal more that way. It always seemed to work on Imhotep and Jonathan. She didn't question why she wanted to know, putting it down to curiosity about a life so radically different from her own.

"Why did you rob Seti's?"

"No choice." Was his simple reply.

"There's always a choice." Evelyn retorted, irritated both by his lack of forthcoming information, and the matter of fact nature of his statement.

Rick snorted. "The only people who say that are the people who've never been in a no win situation."

Evelyn wanted to retort that she _had_ been in such a situation at some point, but she couldn't think of a single example. "Fine." She conceded, "Why didn't you have a choice?"

"I owe money to some very nasty people, that's why." He snapped, quickly loosing patience with this line of questioning. He was silent for a whole minute, reigning in his temper before continuing in a calmer voice. "Do you mind if we don't talk about this right now?"

"Of course." Evelyn replied, keeping to herself the observation that 'right now' implied he might be willing to continue the conversation later. "All done."

She placed one last pat on the newly applied dressing before rising from her seat. Neither acknowledged how cold they suddenly felt. "Thanks." Rick said quietly, not quite looking at her as he reached for his discarded shirt.

There was another awkward silence just then as each tried to figure out what they were supposed to do now, both seemingly fresh out of witty repartee. "Look," It was Rick's turn to break the tension. "I'll go see if they have a spare sheet or something I can hang up like a curtain between the beds."

"That would be nice." Evelyn smiled, touched by this new thoughtfulness.

"Nice has nothing to do with it." Rick snorted as he began to fasten the buttons on his shirt. "I'm just afraid if I don't you won't be able to resist jumping me in the night!"

"Ohhh! Your ego is absolutely colossal!" Evelyn huffed, though it sounded more amused now than actually annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah. Not bad." Rick smiled, making his way to the door. "How's yours?"

…………

**HAMUNAPTR TIMES**

_**Evelyn Carnahan Missing**_

_The usually reclusive celebrity is hitting headlines for the second time in as many days today having vanished from the Carnahan family estate mere hours after announcing her engagement. It doesn't take a very great leap of logic to find a connection between the two events, and members of the press throughout the city ate speculating on this new turn of events. Among the more popular theories is the belief that Miss Carnahan has eloped – a theory backed up by the sudden 'unavailability' of her betrothed._

_Another rumour is that Jonathan Carnahan himself is involved – his own cry for help in locating his "dear sweet baby sister" a mere façade._

_Whatever the explanation, one thing is certain; there is likely to be not a single citizen who isn't looking for the young Miss Carnahan. Her brother has offered a generous reward – £50,000 – for any information leading to her location and safe return._

_The Hamunaptra Times, the only paper to have an exclusive interview with Jonathan Carnahan regarding his missing sister has this to say – if his worry for her well being is indeed a farce, he's one hell of an actor!_

…………

Beni Gabor was a small man with a rat-like face and a bad haircut hidden beneath a red fez that had seen better days. His clothes were rumpled and hung loosely on his thin frame. It was easy to assume that Beni had fallen on some hard times of late, yet those who knew him found it hard to offer any sympathy. It was probably his own fault.

Anyone who thought this would in fact have been right.

Following yet another unsuccessful attempt to win the favour of 'the syndicate', Beni had barely escaped with his freedom and what little dignity he had left intact – something none of his former 'allies' could claim. Burns, Henderson and Daniels were currently rotting in a Hamunaptra prison while the man who had run at the first sign of trouble during the bungled bank job, leaving them to take the brunt of the authorities punishment, was sitting in a buss station in the middle of nowhere reading a stolen newspaper.

At least that's what it would have looked like to the two people sitting on the opposite bench. Not that they were paying attention to the man who may as well have had a sign over his head proclaiming 'Don't trust me'. They were far too busy arguing over who was going to get the window seat.

Beni had the feeling that the man might have noticed his watching them, had his attention not been so fully focused on the woman next to him. Despite the glaringly obvious differences in their appearances, Benin suspected that this man's lifestyle might be rather similar to his own. Something about him told Beni that he was no stranger to a life of crime. It was not however, the man who Beni was particularly interested in at that moment.

Had Beni just come across her in the street, he would most likely have tried to steal her purse (she looked like money after all) and thought no more of it. Having been forced to avoid the police on and off for the last few years, he hadn't had much opportunity to remain up to date on current affairs, and if not for the lovely detailed photograph printed above the article her had finished reading an hour ago, he would have had no idea who she was.

Of course the moment he'd realised that Evelyn Carnahan was about to be on the same bus to Cairo as him, then wheels in his head had begun to spin a mile a minute – the large reward the newspaper had mentioned foremost in his thoughts.

Had miss Carnahan been on her own, Beni would have had no qualms about running to the nearest phone. Unfortunately, her companion was about twice his size, and with his luck, had a very short temper. Beni knew he would have to think very carefully about how to approach this man and convince him to let him in on whatever scam he had going – unless he stood to make less than the reward offered. But he would do something soon he knew. There was money at stake here, and there wasn't a single opportunity to make money that Beni ever let pass him by.

…………

TBC…

And that's all for this chapter folks. Hope you enjoyed it and I'll have the next one up ASAP. Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a review to let me know what you think – go on, you know you want to, it inspires me to write more quickly. Honest!

Kt x


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